Life-preserving suit



April 13 1926.

A. MEILLAND LIFE PRESERVING SUIT o i Filed 0st. 13, 1924 4 sheets shet 1AMI-m May/ 4 April 13 1926.

A MEILLAND LIFE PRESERVING SUIT o ginal l5 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sum we,

April 13 1926.

A. MEILLAND LIFE PRESERVING sun o g Filed Oct. 13 4 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented A r. 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE,

nnpnnw MEIFLIJILIND, onB FALo, nnw YORK,

"L'IFn-r sERVING {stun Original application filed October 13,1924,-Seria1' No. 743,468, Div idediand this application filed February4',f e25.- Serial No. 6-,827.' 7 e- T (ZZZ whom it may concern f Be itknown that I, ANDREW MEILLAND, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland,residingat Bufialo, in the county of Erie and State'of. New Yorlghaveinvented-new and useful Improvements in Life-Preserving tion. I Incommon with the invention constitut- 0 ing the subject ofmy applicationfiled October 13, 1924, Serial No. 743,408,0f which this application isa division,-the*general object of my present invention is the provisiona bathing suit which under normal conditions presents the usualappearance of a Suits, of which the followingv is aspecificaervolr tanktaken at right angles to Figure bathing suit, but which in the event ofan emergency may be inflated so as to' adequately support the wearerofthe'suit in'the water. Another object of the invention is theprovision of efficient means for effecting inflation of the bathing'suit'whenit is'desired to impart a buoyant quality thereto. 7

Another object is the provision of an equipment wherebythe suit may beinflated either by fluid underpressure from a tank or bv the lung-powerofthe wearer, at the election of the wearer, orby both as circum-;

stances demand.

Other objectsand practicaladvantagesfof the invention willbe fullyunderstood from the following description and claims when the same areread in connection with the Y drawings forming part in which i Figure 1is a view ment in use and also showing the manner in which the wearer ofthe suit inflates the same'by lung power.

40 Figures 2 and 3 are views showing'difi'eiw ent positions in which theexpansible fluidpressure container may be arranged the i bathing suit. VV i I Figure .t is an enlarged vertical section showing the fluidpressure containerdeflat-ed, and the inflating means hidden'from view.

Figure 5 is a similarview showing said container inflated, and theinflating means exposed, i V

of this application,

showing my embodi Figure 6 is an enlarged detail section showingthereservoir. tank for the fluid under pressure and the valved conduitmeansin connection therewith, the valve op-v crating-bail being-[shown bydotted lines in open POSltLOIL. v f V F1gure7-s'an edge velevation'ofsaid res- 6, andwith the bail secured in closed posit1on.- v i 4''F-1gures'8, 9- and 1,0 are enlarged detail viewsillustrative oi thepeculiar and advantageous valve mechanism hereinafter referred to. 5 v

' Referring by numerals toFigures 1, 4 and 5,, 1 jdesignates abathing'suitwhich may be and preferably is of the well known c011 'stru'ction 1save in the respects hereinafter 'noted, and therefore of the samegeneral appearance as an ordinary-bathing-suit.'

In theyembodiment. shown in Figures'l, 4

and 5, the bathing suit is provided about the located above the hipportion of the bathing suit, while in Figure 3,21 pocket 2 similar tothepocketfi is arranged aboutthe torso portionjof the bathing suit- 1..(2., from about the height o'ttlioi'arm holes 5 tea point above thehips;v j v I iIi-respective of theilocation "of the said body'encirclingpocket of the bathing suit;

the pocket encloses two subcompartments 6 by male and female fasteners 9orother ap- F propriato means, Figure 4:.

In .thedood encircling pocket of the suit i i-arranged an inflatablecontainer 10 of rubber'or-oth'erappropriate material, the said container10 being preferably 'provided'at 11, Figures, with a comparatively thinwall p'ortion-to facilitate its inflation; lVhende fiated, the'c'ontaineril Q appears" as shown in Figure l and consequentlyit'wi'l'lnot in any material degreechange the appearance of and'7'equ1pped with closure flaps 8 designed. to bedetachably secured inclosed POSHZIOH'} the bathing suit. hen, however, the container 10 issupplied with fluid under pressure and the said fluid under pressure isretained in the container 10, the container 10 will be maintained in thedistended state shown in Figure 5 and hence will form an eflicient lifebelt possessed of suflicient buoyancy to support the body of a person inthe water.

My invention contemplates the Wearing of the bathing suit under normalconditions in or out of the water when the container 10 is in the stateshown in Figure 4, and it will be appreciated that when the bathing suit1s so worn it may be used in lieu of underwear.

'When it is desired to impart a life saving quality to the bathing suit,the same is accomplished by supplying fluid under pressure to thecontainer 10 and inflating the said container to the extent desired ornecessary. The expansion of the container 10 may be effected by lungpower of the wearer throng i the medium of a. tube 12 or by fluid underpressure through the medium of a tube 13 in connection with a reservoirtank 14. The tube 12 is connected at one end to a nipple 15 inconnection with the interior of the container 10 and provided with anoutwardly seated non-return valve (not shown). Said tube 12 is also, bypreference, provided with a mouth piece 17 on which are hinged valvemembers 18 as fully disclosed in my contemporary application, Serial No.743,408. The purpose of the construction just described will beunderstood when it is stated that when the wearer of the suit desires toinflate the container 10, it is simply necessary for the wearer to openthe sub-compartment 6 and remove the tube 12 therefrom and place themouth piece 17 in his mouth with the teeth operating against the valvemembers 18 to open the said valve members. Then by blowing through thetube 12 the wearer is enabled to expand the container 10 until it ispossessed of sufficient buoyancy to support the body of the wearer inthe water. WVit'h this done, the mouth piece 17 is removed from themouth, when the members 18 will automatically close the outer end of thetube 12 so as to exclude water from the interior thereof. The tube 12 isthen replaced in its sub-compartment 6 and the said compartment isclosed and fastened.

Reinovably arranged in the sub-compartment 7 of the suit is thereservoir 14 which is preferably of steel and is preferably receive abail 32 which is designed and adapted to be snapped into and out ofengagement with the keeper 31. The tank 14 also is equipped with apeculiar and advantageous valve mechanism which is clearly illustratedin Figure 8.

The said valve mechanism will be readily understood when it is statedthat the bail 32 is provided with inwardly extending journal portions 33with angular ends 34 on which are fixed by screws 35 cranks 36, Figures8 and 10. Also when it is stated that the journals 33 are disposed inbearing sleeves '37 on a housing 38. The said housing 38 is apertured at39 and is threaded at 40 on a tubular nipple 41 which, in turn, isthreaded in the wall of the tank 14 as designated by 42. Packing may beand preferably is employed at the points 43, 44 and 4F. Movablerectilinearly through the aperture 39 in the housing 38 and also throughthe tubular nipple 41 is a tube 46 to which the tube 13 is directlyconnected in the man ner shown at the right of Figure 8 or in any otherapproved manner. Appropriately fixed on the tube 46 is a collar 47,Figures 8 and 9 in which are bearings 48 for the re-v ception of thecranks By virtue of this construction it will be'readily understood thatwhen the bail is swung to the dotted line position shown in Figure 6,the tube 46 will be moved rectilinearly outward, while when the bail $2is swung to the full line position shown in Figures 6 and 7 the tube 46will be moved rectilinearly inward. Fixedly connected to the inner endof the tubular nipple 41 is a cage or open frame 49 having an interiorabutment 50, and movable in the said cage or open frame 49 is a valvebody 51, provided with a stem 52 and appropriately packed as designatedby 53. It will be readily noted that the packed portion of the valvebody 51 is opposed to the inner end of the tube 46, and. therefore whenthe parts are positioned as shown by full lines in Figure 6 and as shownin Figure 8, the fluid under pressure in the tank 14 by exertingpressureaga'nst the valve body 51. will hold the said body 51 underpressure against the inner end of the tube 46 so that leakage of. fluidunder pressure from the interior of the tank 14 will be precluded. hen,however, the bail 32 is sprung out of engageniient with the keeper 31and is moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 6, the tube 46will be moved rectiliuearly outward, and the valve body 51 will followthe tube 46 in the outward movements of said tube 46 until the valvebody 51. brings up against the abutment 5O whereupon the valve body 51will be held against further outward movement, and the inner end of thetube 46 will be separated from the packed portion of the valve body 51so that fluid under presoi the tank 14 through the tube 46 and the tube13 into the container '10 for the inflation of the latter. Maiifestlywhen the container 10 is sul'liciently inflated, the in flationoperation may be quickly and easily stopped by the wearer swinging thebail :82

to the full line positionshown in Figure 6 and snapping said bail intoengagement with the keeper 31. In this connection it will be understoodthat the last-named movement of the bail 32-will be attended by inwardmovement of the tube46 until the inner end of said tube 46 moves thevalve body 51 inwardly away it'rointhe abutment 5O whereupon theremaining pressure in the tank '14- will operate to tightly hold thevalve body '51 against the inner end of the tube 46' for the purposebefore stated.

The bearings 48 are preferably provided with gates 48, Figure 9, tofacilitate the assembly of the parts. I I V The outer end of the nipple41 is angular for the application of a wrench when it .is desired toscrew said nipple in or out of the wall of the'tank let;

It-will be understoodtliat in addition .to the-practical advantagesascribed to my inn provement, the improvement is simple and inexpensivein construction and s free 0t delicate parts such as are likely. to getout of order after a short period of use,

I'have specifically described the preferred embodim nt or" my invention,in order to 1m- 7 part an exact understanding of saidembodinient. I donot desire, however, to be un-- derstood as confining myself to thespecific disclosure herein, my invention being de-' fined by my appendedclaims within the scope of which structural changes may be made withoutaffecting my invention.

. Having described. my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:. 7 f

1. A life preserving suit having a pocket adapted to encircle the bodyof a wearer, an anniilar inflatable container for'fluid under pressuredisposed in said pocket, means removably arranged within the same pocketfor inflating said container, and means detachably secured in closedstate enclosing said inflating means in the pocket.

2.1 lite preserving suit having a pocket adapted to encircle the body ofa wearer, an

annular inflatable container for fluid under pressure disposed in saidpocket, means re-,

movably arranged within the pocket for inflating said container, meansdetachably secured in closed state enclosingsaid inflating means, thesaid inflating means comprising a tube connect-ed to the inflatablecontainer and having a nonreturn valve at its'inner end and a projectioncontrolled valve at its outer end, a tank connectedto the inflatablecontainer and having a keeper, a bail pivoted to said tank and-adaptedto be snapped I intoand out of engagement with said-keeper, and valvemeans controlled by said bail and adapted whenthe bail is snapped out ofsaid'keeper, to establish communication between the tank-and theinflatable container.

3. In life preserving means, an inflatable jcontainer, a tank, a conduitbetween the tank and container, a keeper onthe tank, handle arranged, tobesnapped into andout of engagementw th said keeper, andvalvc'i meanscontrolling said conduit and controlled, in turn, said handle.

4. In life preserving means, an nflatable container, a tank having akeeper, a conduit 'bBiZWQQilihQifiIlk and-container, and valve meanscontrolling said conduit and cone ..rolled by a bail arranged to besnapped into andout of saidkeeper. i

5. Alife preserving suithaving :a pocket 'adaptedto encircle the body ofa wearer, an

being closable by pressure in the tank when the bail is closed.-' V

7. A life preserving suit having an inflatable container for fluid underpressure and also'ha'ving a pocket, and means removably arranged withinthe pocket for inflating said container, said means comprising a tank, aconduit for connectingthe nterior ofthe tank and the interior-oi? thecontainer, valved-means for controlling said conduit, and a handle forcontrolling said valve means, said valve means comprising a tube movablerectilinearly by the handle, ajvalve body opposed, tothe-tube and meansforstopping outward movement ofthe valve body on outward movement of thetube.

8. The combination of a tank, a handle, a tube movable rectilinearly bythe handle, a valve body in the tank, and means in the tank for stoppingoutward movement ofthe valve body when the tube is moved outwardly.

9. The combination of a tank having a keeper, a crank handle movableinto and out of engagement with said keeper and coni'ccted with thetank, a tubemovable rectilinearly by said crank handle, a cage arrangedin the tank and receiving the inner end'of the tube and having a stop,and movable valve in the cage and opposed to outward movement of the.inner end of the tube and adaptedon 10. The combination of a tank havinga keeper, a tubular nipple secured in the tank Wall, a housing connectedto said nipple, a tube movable rectilineai'ly in the housing and nipple,a bail shaped handle having poi-- tions journaled in the housing andarranged in cranked relation to the tube, a cage a1- ranged in the tankand connected to the inner end of the nipple and having a stop, and aValve movable in the cage and opposed to the inner end of the tube andadapted to be engaged by said stop.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ANDREW MEILLAND.

